Woman dies in Edmonton remand cell after being found not fit to stand trial

A woman found mentally unfit to stand trial died in the Edmonton Remand Centre before her case could be dealt with in court, Postmedia has learned.

The arson and obstructing a peace officer charges against Carol Lee Bivand were withdrawn in Edmonton provincial court May 11 after it was determined that the 29-year-old died in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

Bivand’s case was being heard in the province’s new mental health court program in Edmonton.

Bivand struggled with addiction issues, a battle that resurfaced in the months leading up to her death, said friend Abigail Theberge, who met the young woman in the fall of 2015. Bivand rented a room in the Sherwood Park home where Theberge lived.

The two women had similar interests and upbringings that drew them together: Theberge grew up on an Alberta farm and Bivand was raised “in the bush” near North Bay, Ont.

Bivand loved to play mandolin and electric guitar, and was a generous and giving person who had a difficult life, said Theberge.

“She was eternally more valuable than she would believe or see herself as,” she said.

Theberge got married in the spring of 2016 but stayed in contact with her former roommate. In December 2017, Bivand was battling addiction and asked if she could stay with Theberge and her husband. The couple said yes, and Bivand moved in on March 13.

The Edmonton Remand Centre.Postmedia, file

During the next month, Bivand experienced paranoia and anxiety which Theberge thought were symptoms of withdrawal. But on April 13, Bivand revealed she’d been using drugs again. That night, Theberge said she arrived home and found Bivand completely “strung out.”

Theberge and her husband checked Bivand into a hotel, and the next day made attempts to get her into treatment. They tried a detox centre in downtown Edmonton but missed intake hours, then spent hours waiting first in the Fort Saskatchewan hospital emergency room and then the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton. Neither hospital would admit Bivand, Theberge said, but just minutes before midnight, they were able to reserve her a bed in the George Spady Centre where they dropped her off. That was the last time Theberge would see her friend.

Theberge’s husband came home a few days later and found Bivand at the house. He tried to take her to Bivand’s sister’s house, but, when she couldn’t remember where it was, took her back to George Spady, a downtown shelter and detox facility.

“We were hoping she would stay and just do the detox program there, but I don’t think she did,” said Theberge.

In the days that followed, Bivand began running into legal trouble, show court documents.

On April 21, she was charged with making a false alarm of fire. Two days later, she was charged with breaking and entering property owned by a demolition company in downtown Edmonton.

Then, on April 27, she was arrested again on the charges of arson and obstruction of a peace officer. She didn’t get bail this time, and was jailed at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

Prior to the three arrests in late April, the only other court record for Bivand in Alberta is a charge for failing to report to a probation officer in September and October 2017.

On May 1, a provincial court judge ordered a mental fitness assessment for Bivand. Fitness assessments determine an accused’s ability to defend themselves or properly instruct their lawyer during trial.

The assessment completed on May 4 found her unfit to stand trial.

Carol Lee Bivand.Facebook.

The fitness assessment report was included in a provincial court file accessed by Postmedia on May 17. However, before the report could be examined in its entirety, a court clerk collected it, saying it was not supposed to be included in the file. A court search later determined the fitness assessment had not been entered as an exhibit in the case.

A request to have access to the file was rejected by provincial court Judge Larry Anderson on May 17. In his written ruling, Anderson advised that Postmedia could seek a hearing to apply to have the document released.

On May 5, Bivand was found unresponsive in her Edmonton remand cell. Staff and emergency responders attempted to resuscitate her, but she was declared dead.

In an emailed statement, Alberta Justice said, for privacy reasons, it would not confirm or deny that the deceased inmate is Bivand. The cause of death remains under investigation.

Theberge didn’t know her friend had been arrested until after she learned of her death.

“I just really wanted to see her turn around,” said Theberge.

Alberta Justice said an internal board of review is being conducted into the circumstances of the May 5 remand death, and that the findings will be made available during a public fatality inquiry.

Exactly two weeks after Bivand died in her cell, another inmate was found dead in his remand cell. Alberta Justice has said an internal review will also be undertaken in that case.

The office of the chief medical examiner is investigating both deaths.

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